The companies are working on LOVR, a new material made entirely from hemp industry leftovers. It's meant to replace leather and can be fully recycled or composted when it's no longer needed. LOVR™ stands for Leather-free, Oil-free, Vegan, and Residue-based.
Lucas Fuhrmann, CEO and co-founder of Revoltech, explained:
"Our innovative surface material called LOVR that we are developing and testing for the automotive industry in cooperation with Volkswagen is scalable and groundbreaking for sustainability in the automotive sector."
The production process combines hemp fibers with a plant-based glue. What's great is that it can be made using existing factory equipment, making it easy to ramp up production quickly.
Volkswagen's technical teams, including Materials Technology and Design departments, are working closely with Revoltech on this project. They've gotten really good feedback from customers so far.
Kai Grünitz, who's on Volkswagen's Brand Board for Technical Development, said:
"In our search for new materials, we are very open to new ideas from many different industries. At Technical Development, we place a strong focus on innovative, creative and sustainable solutions for holistic, resource-saving vehicle development."
This project fits right in with Volkswagen's ACCELERATE strategy, which puts a big emphasis on using resources sustainably. Andreas Walingen, Head of Strategy at Volkswagen, pointed out:
"The sustainable use of resources is a key pillar in our ACCELERATE strategy and is therefore firmly anchored in our mindset and our actions. Our clear goal is to fuse customer wishes, sustainability requirements and corporate interests."
Walingen also mentioned that this partnership shows how start-ups and big companies can work together, each bringing their own strengths to the table. The goal is to get these new features ready for cars as quickly as possible.
Source: Volkswagen